6 short films to catch at the Silwerskerm Festival this year

Cape Town – The who's who of the local film industry is descending on Cape Town for the annual Silwerskerm Festival.

Now in its sixth year it is set to showcase the best in Afrikaans films with special full-length film premieres, 15 short films, discussion panels and a glamorous award ceremony.

The festival will run from 24 – 27 August at the Bay Hotel in Camps Bay.

Here are six short films that are a must-see:

1. Hum

Thomas has been hearing a paralysing hum for so long that he can hardly remember when things started going wrong for him. To make matters worse, no one else can hear it, and eventually Thomas agrees to go for shock therapy.

This leads to memory loss, and with the help of his psychiatrist, Thomas has to try and regain his memory so he can win back the love of his life, Jana.

Watch the trailer here:

2. Koue Voete (Cold Feet)

A criminal comes in many shapes and forms. He won’t necessarily be wearing a balaclava. He’s not a specific colour and doesn’t belong to a specific class. A beggar, a couple who are engaged to be married, two worried parents, and a drunken couple…

Koue Voete follows seven different characters whose lives are dramatically changed over the course of a single evening.

Watch the trailer here:

3. Die Bok (The Goat)

This short film is based on the short story Die Bok (1961) by Ingrid Jonker. It only has a cast of four characters (including the goat) and is set on a remote farm in the early 1960s. It’s produced by the Pretoria-based production company David & Goliath Films.

Susan has a baby on the way and her older husband is away from home more often. The gardener and the cleaner spend more and more time together, and Susan is increasingly overwhelmed by the loneliness of her life on the farm. To make matters worse, a stray goat is moving closer and closer to her beloved rose garden.

Watch the trailer here:

4. Onthou (Remember)

When a young, carefree hippie applies for the job to nurse a strict and fussy old lady, there is tension from the get-go.

But they unexpectedly develop a deeper friendship as they get to know one another, as well as learning how to accept someone unconditionally. Age is just a number, but deep friendships become a part of our existence.

Watch the trailer here:

5. Spoor(loos) (Without a Trace)

Have you ever wished you could be a superhero? Or stop a moment in time? Johnson’s DNA has always been wired to save everything and everyone. Life hasn’t dealt him an easy hand, but his outlook remains unchanged. When a prostitute, Juliet, makes an unexpected appearance in his life, he tries to save her from her dark and difficult life.

Watch the trailer here:

6. Die Biker (The Biker)

Die Biker is based on an award-winning short story about a biker who takes a wrong turn, and ends up on the farm of a biker-hater.

Paul du Toit plays the biker, who has to endure some extreme trials and tribulations, while Ian Roberts plays the helpful farmer who tells the biker his sad story and sees to it that the biker has an unforgettable night on his farm. But in the morning he must ask himself: was any of it real?